Tunk Times #5

Greetings from our temporary headquarters in Uusmäki, Finland. Birdsong and the smell of grilled tofu & zucchini fill our office as we are working on our website and final details of the frames.

The most happy news is that the latest fork samples finally passed EN ISO stress testing! The heat-treated Reynolds 853 fork blades did not deform at all in the 1000N bending test where the previous forks failed massively, and passed the “crash test” with only minor fractures. The material has a theoretical ~60% higher strength, which seems to hold true in the real world as well, at least in the test laboratory.

This certification was the last true obstacle to having a ready product. Only paint and decals and other visual details remain to be finalized. The frames actually are being made as I write, but the production batch of new fork blades of course have only just been ordered from Reynolds. About one month from now the framesets should be ready and for sale! Once we have the color schemes figured out we will open the official preorder system.

We will soon have a product page where all the frame details are easily available. Some small changes to the frames we have made since the prototypes include a CNC-machined headtube with reinforcements, a brazed-on rear cantilever hanger, integrated seatpost clamp and few more millimeters of fender mounting distance to have luxurious clearance with 48mm tires.

We are also working on a sizing guide to help you choose the right size frame, along with some ideas about our particular style of bike fit. It should be ready in the next week or so. 

On the product testing side, commuting with Tunk bikes is going on every day, along with some long-weekend spring tours, day-rides, a gravel-heavy 300km brevet and building up new configurations of the prototypes. 

Until next time

Tunk crew